The present invention relates generally to refrigeration devices with ice makers and ice storage bins.
Refrigeration appliances with having ice making mechanisms, and bins for storing ice made by the ice making mechanisms are well known, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,545,217, 6,050,097, 6,286,324, 6,351,958, 6,438,976 and 6,442,954.
In several of these patents, the ice bin is located in the door of a freezer compartment, and in some patents, a light beam sensor system is used to determine when the ice bin is full. The emitter and receiver components are mounted on opposite side walls of the freezer compartment, and when the door is closed, the light beam passes through an open portion of the bin, located near a top of the bin.
In other refrigeration appliance constructions, particularly where the freezer compartment is located in a lower compartment, sometimes referred to as a bottom mount freezer, the ice bins have typically been installed in movable baskets or other storage compartments, such that the ice bin takes up only a portion of the width of the freezer compartment. In these constructions, the movable basket is pulled out of the front of the compartment when the user desires access to either the ice bin or items stored in the movable basket. Since it is desired to shut off ice production when the ice bucket is full, a mechanical bail arm has typically been used to physically sense the ice level and shut off the ice maker when the ice bin is full.
This method of sensing the ice level has the potential for the bail arm to rake the cubes rearward off the top of the ice bin due to the physical contact of the bail arm and the ice in the bin, and then into the rest of the storage area when the ice bin and storage basket are moved forward for access to the ice cubes or other food items. When this occurs, return of the basket to its normal closed position may be prevented, or unusual noises may be generated upon returning the basket to its closed position, generating service calls by the user.
Further, movement of the ice bin every time the storage basket is moved results in unnecessary movement of the ice bin and requires the user to use more force than necessary to move the storage basket, both undesirable occurrences.
It would be an improvement in the art if a refrigeration appliance were provided with an ice maker and an ice storage bin occupying less than a full width of a freezer compartment and an ice level sensor not requiring contact with the ice in the ice bin.